Aq Bars

Aq Bars (or Ak Bars) (Tatar: Ак Барс; Russian: Ак Барс) is the emblem of Tatarstan. It is an ancient Bulgar symbol translated as "White Leopard" or "Snow Leopard", and has been in use since 1991 as the official symbol of Tatarstan.

Coat of arms of the Republic of Tatarstan
Armiger	Rustam Minnikhanov, Head of the Republic of Tatarstan
Adopted	1991

Historically, this symbol was used in Volga Bulgaria and the Khanate of Kazan (Qazan) – predecessors of Tatarstan – as a state symbol. The snow leopard symbol comes from the totems of one of the Bulgar tribes – the Barsil. According to legend, the Barsils founded Bilär in Volga Bulgaria.

The creator of the current emblem is the artist Rif Fäxretdinov (Риф Фәхретдинов).

Historical coats of arms

The Russian coat of arms of Volga Bulgaria: a green shield with a silver walking lamb, holding a red gonfalone, divided by a silver^[1] cross, with a golden staff.^[2][3]

• 
  The Russian coat of Arms of Volga Bulgaria
• 
  A Russian seal, featuring the coat of arms of the Bulgarian king
• 
  Seal of the Kazan kingdom from the royal titular book of 1672.
• 
  Kazan Governorate 1856-1920
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  The emblem of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic 1920-1926
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  The emblem of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic 1937-1978
• 
  The emblem of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic 1978-1990
• 
  Proposed coat of arms for the Tatar Soviet Socialist Republic 1991

See also

• Ak Bars Kazan - this coat of arms is the hockey team's secondary logo, used extensively on their jerseys
• Zilant

References

1. Геральдикум: Титульные гербы
2. Госсимволика: Большой герб Российской империи (1882 г.)
3. "Всероссийский Монархический Центр – Большой Государственный Герб Российской Империи". Archived from the original on 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2013-09-12.